Aston Villa confirm latest transfer as Sheffield United & Bristol City ‘looking to take’ youngster on loan

Aston Villa have confirmed that goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic has completed a permanent move to HNK Hajduk Split.

The 32-year-old has spent the last two seasons on loan with with the Croatian side and the move has today become a permanent one.

After being named the best goalkeeper in Belgium whilst playing for KAA Gent in 2016/17, Kalinic joined Villa from the Belgian giants in 2019 and was part of the claret and blue squad that won promotion back to the Premier League later that season.

The signings of Emiliano Martinez and more recently Robin Olsen meant that the chance of a future at Villa Park for the shot-stopper was always going to be slim and that has proved to be the case as he brings to an a three and a half year spell in the West Midlands where he made just eight first-team appearances.

All eyes are on Tim Iroegbunam in the Championship

Elsewhere and young, upcoming star Tim Iroegbunam is apparently attracting a lot of interest from England’s second tier.

According to BirminghamLive, the teenager who made his first-team debut for Villa last season is high on the list of a number of Championship clubs including Bristol City, Swansea City and Sheffield United.

Stoke City and Blakburn Rovers are also said to be monitoring his situation whilst former assistant manager Michael Beale, whom is now Head Coach at QPR, could be keen on a move for the 18-year-old.

With the strengthening Villa have done in midfield so far this summer, a loan move wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise for Iroegbunam.

However, Steven Gerrard thinks very highly of the youngster and after giving him his senior debut last year, is keen to develop him further and mould him into the first-team fray - similar to how we’ve seen Jacob Ramsey burst onto the scene over the course of the last two seasons.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.